Construction Begins on NYC’s First Prefab Steel and Concrete Residential Development

© GLUCK+

Prefabrication has long been heralded as a possible way to infill New York’s vacant sites; however, it has only recently become a solid practical solution rather than an experimental concept. Riding the crest of the wave of new prefabricated housing is GLUCK+ (formerly Peter Gluck & Partners), in collaboration with developers Jeffrey Brown and Kimberly Frank. Together they have begun construction on one of New York’s first prefabricated steel and residential buildings.

Read more about this and New York’s recent wave of prefabricated buildings after the break…

Event: Pratt Explores the Importance of Cold War Era Pre-Fabricated Building Systems

Housing Prototype Systems; Courtesy of Pedro Alonso

’s School of Architecture will present “COLD war COOL digital,” an exhibition of 20 scaled prototypes of modernist, pre-fabricated, and globally-distributed Cold War era housing systems that were created using contemporary 3D printing technologies (opening reception 2/18 at 6:15, details below). The exhibition will investigate architectural modernism and its global influence and will connect with contemporary prototype pre-fabrication methods and digital research in housing and skyscraper . A symposium that explores the technical, aesthetic, and political aspects of prototyping and pre-construction in architecture will be held tonight in conjunction with the exhibition.

Continue reading for more details…

The Downfalls of Prefab Design

Sky City is planned to be the world’s tallest skyscraper, constructed entirely through pre-fab.

Prefabricated design has come to be known as a fast, green, and cost-efficient way to create buildings. Although this technique has most prominently been used with small residential structures, it’s now taken a turn towards greater, larger projects. With towers and skyscrapers now in the works (and, in some cases, going up in as little as six days), pre-fab begs the question: is it really safe? Does quick production time lead to instability, making prefabricated buildings more likely to collapse?

Read more after the break.

VIDEO: Dwell Presents Jens Risom’s Island Home

If you’re at all immersed in the world, you already know the name of Danish-American furniture designer . And, if you know , you most certainly know the mid-century, pre-fab house he designed and built on an isolated island 13 miles off the coast of New England.

If you don’t know it – now’s the time to get acquainted. The gorgeous summer home – which famously graced the pages of LIFE Magazine in 1968, has recently been featured by Dwell in a video.

The house, which has stood on Block Island for 45 years with relatively little renovation, despite the island’s notoriously powerful gales of wind, defies the stereotype that pre-fabricated buildings can’t be built to last (or beautifully designed).  Indeed, Risom only attempted the venture because of the “personal freedom” that pre-fabrication afforded him. As he explains: “Architecture, to me, is the most beautiful of the arts. But I watched my father [an architect] struggle with the challenges, what was to me an enormous drawback: The architect did not fully drive the end product. I always knew that I wanted to design, but only [if I could] create products over which I had total control.”

More on this extraordinary home and its designer, after the break…

World’s Tallest Skyscraper Back On Track To Be Built in 90 Days

Courtesy of Broad Group

Despite reports that construction firm Broad Sustainable Building (BSB), a subsidiary of Broad Group, could not complete its 220-story Sky City tower in 90 days, the company’s senior VP Juliet Jiang has announced that the “will go on as planned with the completion of five storeys a day.”

Thus, rather than in seven months, the world’s tallest tower (838 m; 2,750 ft) will be finished in three – topping out at the end of March 2013.

As we’ve discussed before here on ArchDaily, the tower could truly be revolutionary in China; Broad Group’s 95% modular technology, which is responsible for the incredible rate of construction, is also radically environmentally-friendly, earthquake-safe, and cost-effective. In fact, Sky City, designed by engineers who worked on the Burj Khalifa, will cost a tenth of that famous skyscraper (only $1,500 per square meter) – and take a twentieth of the time to build.

More info on the world’s tallest tower, after the break…

Beyond the “Made In China” Mentality: Why China’s Innovation Revolution Must Embrace Pre-Fab Architecture

Chinese construction company Broad Group’s rendering for Sky City One, soon to be the world’s tallest skyscraper. (© Image: Broad Group via Gizmag)

When Wired correspondent Lauren Hilgers arrived to Broad Town, the headquarters of the Broad Sustainability Group in Changsha, , she soon realized that this was not your typical workplace environment. At Broad Town, employees must be able to run 7.5 miles over the course of 2 days; recite company “policy” – covering everything from how to save energy to how to brush your teeth – at a moment’s notice; and refer to their boss as “my chairman.”

It may sound strict, but the workers at Broad are on a higher mission. The CEO and founder of the company, Zhang Yue, a.k.a the chairman, doesn’t just consider himself the head of a construction company, but of a “structural revolution.”

In a few years, Zhang has turned the world of skyscraper design on its head, pushing the technical and structural capabilities of pre-fabrication to its utmost (perhaps you’ve heard of the 30-story hotel he built in just 15 days). Not only do Broad’s techniques save time and money, they represent a potentially game-changing opportunity for China to maintain its unfathomable rate of growth in a way that’s both safe and sustainable.

But where does innovation enter in this revolution? China, for years an intellectual playground for Western architects, has become increasingly concerned with nurturing its own latent intellectual capital. However, if Broad’s paradigm takes hold (which, pragmatically-speaking, it should), what will that mean for architectural innovation? In a world of pre-fab structures, can architecture exist?

Update: SLEEPBOX / Arch Group

© Arch Group

Back in late 2009 Arch Group shared with us their proposal for an urban relaxation pod – SLEEPBOX. Their concept has been realized, with production of the 2.5×1.6m x 2.5-3m high unit high moving ahead. 

Japanese Precut Timber Construction


The traditional wooden construction of Japanese architecture is extremely detailed. Its exacting precision and craftsmanship has stood the test of time for centuries. However, the process of handcrafting each wooden beam with mortises and tenons is quite labor intensive, and with an aging workforce, automation of the production process is key to continuing the tradition.

The Rise of Prefab Design

Photo by SteveRapport - http://www.flickr.com/photos/23361730@N00/

Prefabricated design has been around since at least the 1940’s, but has lately seen resurgence in popularity. By assembling off-site, gives homebuyers attractive alternatives to the standard residential developments that have become commonplace. While prefabricated homes are not without their disadvantages, they are an interesting component of the post- bubble residential market. More on prefab design after the break.

WikiHouse: Build Your Own House in 24 Hours

© .cc

Imagine taking your Google Sketchup creation for a house and having it milled out and assembled all within 24 hours.  WikiHouse, an Open Community project that puts you in the driver’s seat of and construction has recently unleashed the opportunity for anyone to realize their own vision of architecture.

Office Building and Logistic Center / modostudio

© Julien Lanoo

Architect: modostudio
Location: Nola,
Client: Giorgia & Johns Spa
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 13,760 sqm
Photographs: Julien Lanoo

TuboHotel / T3arc

Luis Gordoa

Architects: T3arc
Location: , Mexico
Project Year: 2010
Project Area: 220 sqm
Photographs: Luis Gordoa

JustK House / Martenson and Nagel Theissen Architecture

© Brigida González

Architects: Martenson and Nagel Theissen Architecture
Location: Tübingen,
Client: Katrin Martenson and Dominik Bless-Martenson
Project Year: 2010
Project Area: 278 sqm
Photographs: Brigida González

Ponferrada Church / Vicens + Ramos

© Pablo Vicens

Architect: Vicens + Ramos / Ignacio Vicens y Hualde, José Antonio Ramos Abengózar
Location: Ponferrada, Leon,
Collaborators: Fernando Gil, Desirée González, Pablo Gutiérrez, Joaquín Esperón, Romina Barbieri, Raúl Rodríguez, Tibor Martín, Patricia de Elena, Javier Margarit, Joan Ramon Cornellana
Project Year: 2006-2010
Photographs: Pablo Vicens

ESCLISE Mobile Design Home / Arhitektu Birojs Arhiidea

© Arhitektu Birojs Arhiidea

The idea behind the ESCLISE Mobile Design Home was to deliver a complete house with complete outer and inner finishing, installations and furniture. Thus volume and configuration of the structure results from transportation possibilities. The house is delivierd in two parts: upper and bottom part. Complete finishing of the two parts and carefully designed junction details allows a quick and easy installation in abput two hours by two workers + crane operation.

Further information and photos after the break.

AD Classics: Bass Residence / Paul Rudolph

© Tony Monk

A remarkable architect not only designs on one scale, but can shift between residential and large-scale buildings while maintaining a distinct style or set of techniques to link them all together.

The houses of Paul Rudolph have withstood the tests of time, both in the physical sense and in their ability to be greatly appreciated and admired even as architectural styles evolve. His residences are marked by his explorative uses of structure and inventive building techniques.

, Texas holds one of the few houses built by Rudolph outside of Florida. The Bass Residence of the early 1970s is evidence of his attempts to fuse a new and old architecture style “whose richness came not from applied ornament but from spatial complexities developed from structure and the three dimensional elaboration of the program.”

The Bass Residence marks the most ambitious housing project of Rudolph, and the intensity of overlapping horizontal volumes and pronounced cantilevers show his rigor in designing a cohesive unit whose ideas can be read and comprehended by any architect or unstudied person alike.

More on the Bass Residence after the break.

Guest House in Vato / Paan Architects

© Kyle Gudsell

Architects: Paan Architects
Location: ,
Design Team: Maria Papafigou & Johan Annerhed
Structural Engineer: K-Konsult
Project Area: 42 sqm
Photographs: Kyle Gudsell and “Conjunction”: Fabian Svensson, Jens Klevje

Prefabricated Nature / MYCC

© FG+SG – Fernando Guerra, Sergio Guerra

This prefabricated house was already featured before, but now we present some more detailed material shared by the architects. Designed by MYCC, built in three months and assembled in three days, this vacation house located in the Galician municipality of Cedeira is a good example of the many possibilities that construction, up to now associated with catalogue houses, offers today.

Happy Haus / Donovan Hill

© Jon Linkins

Architects: Donovan Hill
Location: Not available (images are from , but house is prefab, it can be anywhere!)
Project Team: Brian Donovan, Timothy Hill, Michael Hogg, Kim Baber, Chris Hing Fay, Greg Lamb, Phil Hindmarsh, Christina Cho, Jon Shankey, Dana Hutchinson
Builders: Hutchinson Builders
Total Floor Area: 26-42m²/unit
Period: 1 year
Construction Period: 8 weeks plus site works
Photography: Jon Linkins, Donovan Hill

Cantilever House / Anderson Anderson Architecture

©

Architects: Anderson Anderson Architecture
Location: Granite Falls, Washington,
Project Area: 2,800 sq ft
Project Year: 2006
Photographs: Anderson Anderson Architecture

Manifesto House / James & Mau, for Infiniski

© Antonio Corcuera
© Antonio Corcuera

Project: Manifesto House
Architects: James & Mau
Location: Curacaví,
Built Area: 160 m2 ( + 15 m2 terraces 2nd floor)
Landscaping: Infiniski
General Contractor and manager: Infiniski
Renewable strategy: Infiniski + Geotek
Project year: 2009
Execution Time: 90 days
Total Cost: 79.000 €
Photograph: Antonio Corcuera
Furniture: Cómodo Studio, gt_2P